How would you like to take an ordinary kiddo shirt and transform it into ‘lift-the-flap’ clothing?  Lets face it, those books are still fun! You will learn how to make a simple ‘stuffie’ (completely removable for washing) and watch your kids turn it into an interactive prop for creative play. You could even make a few and rotate them.

1. Get inspired. What do you think would make a fun prop? A moustache? An ice-cream? An envelope with a felt letter? Your fabric stash can be a good place to draw inspiration…do you have some stripes that scream villain or conveniently, a fabric with a ready made prop lurking in the print (see telephone). You could put something noisy inside; crinkly plastic, a bell. The cord can become part of the game too! You guys are the creatives. Go wild.

2. Gather materials, including some stuffing to fill the shape with.

3. Cut the cord and attach velcro. The cord should be long enough to reach where the prop will be used (but not long enough to go around a neck) plus an extra inch that will be fixed inside the stu ffie. Cut a narrow strip of velcro (about an inch) and secure it to one end of the cord with a zig-zag stitch, going up and back several times.

4. Draw the sewing line. This will be the perimeter of your stuffie when it is poofed up. This line should be just out from the edge of the image so you don’t lose any of it when you sew.

5. Cut the shape just outside the sewing line this time. This will become the seam allowance.

6. Flip over and re-draw your sewing line on the wrong side.

7. Cut the felt backing. Pin the fabric to your felt and cut around the shape.

8.  Attach velcro to felt backing and to shirt. Sew a couple of strips of velcro to the back of the felt backing. Cover a generous area…the stuffie needs to be easy to slap on in a hurry (when you have to hang that telephone up fast). Now for the shirt. When considering where to place the complimentary velcro strips see if there is somewhere in the fabric design to disguise black or white velcro, like in stripes as above. This just makes for a slightly neater look but its not a biggie if its not possible. Pin and sew the velcro on, making sure the stuffie has plenty of area to stick to.

9. Attach cord and sew stuffie. With your fabric right side to right side (velcro facing outside), sandwich the cord between the two layers and pin in place, leaving an inch hanging outside and the rest on the inside. Shut the lid and pin around the remainder of the shape. Sew your Stuffie following the line you drew earlier, making sure the cord is still tucked inside. Leave a gap in the stitching large enough to turn stuffie back the right way.

10. Now stuff it. Stuff it real good.

11. Close the opening with small neat hand-stitching, using co-ordinating thread.

12. To add a little extra tactile goodness and give the stuffie a quilted effect, pick a couple of lines to emphasize and sew along them.

I first saw the jacket made up here and jumped at the chance to try a new boy’s pattern, particularly one involving piping. Turns out the pattern doesn’t say anything about piping but its a nice detail on an otherwise plain jacket. And since too much is never enough, I piped the sleeves, the rim of the hood and along the hood before, thankfully, it ran out. Its a simple pattern to work with, though I missed the handy notches of an Oliver and S.

By the way, did anyone notice I was fashionably late to this week’s Kids Clothing Week Challenge? HAH, I wish. This is the sum total of my efforts for days 1 & 2 & 3 & 4.  Dang that real life stuff that gets in the way of sewing and blogging! This is turning into a one item KCWC for me. It was more fun to edit photos than sew the coat this week, so I think I’ll take that as a sign to re-group and rest. I’ll have to be okay (cries hysterically) with that this time round but I’ll still be checking out everyone else’s awesome sewing in the flickr pool and ‘pinning‘ you all like mad!

To be honest I’m a bit of a mad Ergo baby carrier devotee. I’ve recommended it to so many unwitting mothers that any day now Ergo will call and announce that, as their unofficial sales rep, 5c from every carrier  will be donated to me. So before this becomes an Ergo rant, I must press that no baby carrier (and we’ve tested a few) has compared to its comfort and convenience, especially for a mum who goes handbag / pram-free when she can get away with it.

Thus, it was for cosmetic reasons alone that I fell in love with the Pea Pod carrier designed by Sascha of Piccoli Piselli (a must-see blog for boy sewing inspiration) and went out and bought the same Heather Ross fabric and contrast. I’m highly imaginative, you know. There were no pre-expectations for the Pea-pod to compare to beloved ergo and no hard feelings if it just turned into pure hip-candy.

We love our Pea Pod! I followed Sascha’s recommendation of making the shoulder strap wider over the shoulder area, than the original measurement for added comfort. So even with the weight distributed off-centre it supports this 10kg bruiser with surprising comfort. A great pattern with easy construction. Not to mention it’s mighty purty too!

Here’s a hoodie from a while ago that was forgotten amidst all the excitement of celebrating the summer boy. Its a knit version of Heidi and Finn’s comfy yoga top, also seen here and here (truly a loved pattern). Definitely an appropriate print for a boy who has his head in the clouds. The cloud print is from a pre-loved ladies shirt we’re now down to one front panel (sob, we had some good times together).